MUMBAI: BJP chiefNitin Gadkari on Wednesday claimed that allegations against him were a plot to malign him and trained his guns on Congress. Gadkari dared Congress to probe charges against Robert Vadra over his land transactions.

Gadkari, who landed in Mumbai, after cancelling other engagements over the past two days, including a campaign tour of Himachal Pradesh, was addressing his supporters. During his earlier tour to the poll-bound state, Gadkari had refrained from taking up the corruption issue or attacking Congress leader Virbhadra Singh despite his party's demand for a SIT probe against Singh.

However, he got back to Congress-bashing over allegations of corruption, rejecting all allegations against him, including 'business links' with NCP leader Sharad Pawar and BJP's Rajya Sabha MP Ajay Sancheti.

Gadkari, in the eye of the storm over allegations of questionable business practices in the Purti Power and Sugar Ltd, is apparently focusing on reaching out to the people back home in Maharashtra. In an attempt to convince his supporters that he had "done no wrong," he refuted indulging in any business fraud or money laundering and claimed he had welfare of farmers upmost in his mind. "But my conscience is clear. I run a social enterprise to improve the lives of the farmers of Vidarbha. I will never do anything that will make the BJP worker hang his head in shame," he said.

After he cut short his Himachal campaign, questions are being raised about whether Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi would want him to campaign in Gujarat. But, in Mumbai, where Gadkari was in familiar territory, he took on Congress saying it was trying to malign him and BJP. "I am ready to face a probe.... I am not afraid. I know how to retaliate... In the last three years of my tenure, BJP is on the path of progress and the 2014 Lok Sabha elections will lead to the formation of an NDA government with a BJP leader as prime minister. This is the reason why opponents are out to malign me through a media trial," he alleged.

Gadkari was busy consulting legal experts, but will get back to his scheduled programme from Thursday, according to a party source. He is likely to go to Chhattisgarh to attend a state government function.